When did you get started with your IG account and what made you choose to promote sustainable fashion and lifestyle products?
I started my IG because my modeling agency advised me to do it – it seemed to be important to have a modeling portfolio on IG and I uploaded a couple of pictures but I wasn’t totally into it – sharing only modeling didn’t feel inspiring and I couldn’t just keep it business. So I started sharing everything I'm interested in and sustainability has always been a part of my life, that’s why it became very naturally a part of my IG story. I also use social media to educate myself about this topic and it gives me the opportunity to connect with many like-minded people and of course to learn about sustainable brands and the development of sustainability in fashion. I studied textile and fashion engineering and was working in the industry, this is why I know very well how dirty the industry is, which makes me follow more conscious ways. I've been following the fashion industry changes for the past 10 years and I’m happy to see a lot of positive development towards sustainability and it is worth sharing.
What's your daily routine as a sustainable fashion digital talent?
It feels super nice when someone calls me a sustainable fashion digital talent! I can’t tell at which point it changed from me creating content just for fun and sharing my sustainable habits to a valuable creative routine. But it still feels the same – I'm curious about fashion, and sustainability in fashion and lifestyle. I try to improve myself and I know that this is still a long journey. I'm happy to share new discoveries with my friends and on social media: sometimes they inspire me and sometimes it’s me who inspires people to be more conscious and this exchange is what makes me happy.
How do you find new products, and what are your favourite products and brands in beauty, activewear and fashion?
My actual formula, which works the best at the moment is:
- Have less, but stick to high quality
- You can have any product you want, as long as you use it long-term
3.Try Vinted, Selllpy or VinoKilo – secondhand shops are the best!
- Look for sustainable brands on sustainable fashion platforms. The green labels, Purist or IKIGAI labels have a very good selection. And, of course, fashion weeks are a huge source of information and inspiration – especially Copenhagen Fashion Week, which sets high sustainability standards for participants. I have many brands that I like a lot and of course SHOHEI is one of them.
Regarding beauty products, it’s been a long journey and I’m always curious about new brands that offer vegan and cruelty-free products with a clever and clean formula that really works on my skin. There are a lot of requirements, but for now I love Wowlabs and Dr. Baumann products a lot. I'm a huge fan of Aesop skincare, as well as cosmetics from Annabelle Minerals and Lush (especially for their no-packaging, vegan and cruelty free philosophy).
My favourite sports brands are Casall and Röhnisch – both sustainable, high quality brands that also run ethical and social projects, I also like KCA Lab very much – a very sympathetic trio of sisters who develop sustainable, innovative and beautiful designs. I found all of them through Instagram.
What's most important for you when working with a brand?
Despite the fact that I preferably work with brands who are committed to improve their sustainability standards and are conscious about our environment, it's also important that the product quality is good, otherwise I can not introduce it to my audience. I decline a lot of requests if the company values do not seem to be very conscious or transparent. I love it when the relationship with the brand is warm and respectful – it feels like a true community, I think that this is important for both sides. There are big well known companies launching their sustainability driven collections right now in Germany.
At the same time their strategy for advertising these collections is far from fair. I don’t support brands that want creatives and activists to advertise their brand and at the same time they try to convince the creatives or activists that they are not worth paying for their work.
Meanwhile, most of the creators are female and are very young, they believe big brands saying that they are not worth it, that they are not valuable and this is far from empowering, far from being fair and far from 21st-century. Of course, the chance that those brands are conscious about fair conditions in production or elsewhere is also very low and it is for sure not about sustainability.
What's your personal Berlin city guide for people starving to travel and making plans to visit in the near future. Are there any new places you'd recommend?
I would recommend (when things are back to normal) to have a summer walk around Boxhagener Platz on a Sunday and enjoy the flea market, discover some handmade treasures and go for an organic vegan ice-cream at Balaram. Then head to R.A.W an underground area with fully graffitied buildings, as well as a phone booth with the tiniest disco inside where you can order your favourite song. After that head over to Michelberger Hotel and enjoy finest food and wine in a beautiful atmosphere with live music. At the end enjoy a sunset walk along Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree and have the best Neapolitan pizza at Zola.
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Text / Edit P. Marcus Browne